Oil-switch.



C. C. BADEAU.

OIL'SWITGH.

APPLICATION FILED 121113.20. 1909.

1,021,746. Patented m2111263 1912.

.WHO reey.

AUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. CHARLES C. BADEAU, 0F *BIOS'I'OlNAQMASSAC-HUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 SEARS'` CONDIT, i

JB, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. i

OIL-SWITCH. 4

Patented Mar. 26,1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. BADEAU, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and 'State' ofMassachusetts,have invented an Im rovement in Oil-Switches, of which theollowing description, in connection with the ac- .ompanying drawings,isa specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention is an oil -vwell circuit breaker and has for its object,besides certain vconstructional advantages, the provision of meanspermitting the removal of the oil-well from the circuit breaker by avery little downward movement inasmuch as the circuit breaker itselfmoves Vupward out of the oil pan, leaving the latter free for removalwith slight drop. Also the lower or laminated brush contact iseasilyinspected, as it is deadwhen in position tobe inspected and notnear the other terminals when the pan is removed. These and furtheradvantages of my invention will be pointed vout in the course of thefollowing description, taken. with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which I have illustrated one form of my invention.

In the drawingsI have shown a central vertical cross-sectional viewofthe appa-V ratus.

The pan 1 with a usual wood lining 2 and complement of oil 3, may be ofany usual or preferred shape and general construction, being hereinshown as suspended by bolts 4l and wing nuts 5 from a top plate orbracket (iconstituting a cover-support for the switch supported at 7Secured to the bottom of Y 'the oil pan by a suitable insulating support8 is a brush contact member 9 preferably laminated, arranged to contactat its oppo-` site ends with terminals 10, 11, clamped by nuts 12 on acarrier 13 herein shown as perforated at 14 'to facilitate `its movementthrough the oil. Split terminals 15, 16 eX- tend upwardly from thecontacts 10, 11, in

`sliding contact .with conductor tubes or sleeves 17, 18, mounted inporcelain posts or insulators 19 in the top 6, from which eX- tendconductors 20, 21 in usual manner. The carrier or supporting bridge 13of the movable contacts 10, 11 may be operated by `any suitable means,being herein shown as supported by a rod 22 having vertical movementthrough a bearing, 23`and actuated by an operating rod or handle 24 andbell crank .25 -pivoted at 2.6 to a stationary part 27 In use, theswitch breaks upward by the upward'Amovement of the rod 22, therebycausing the contacts 10, 11 to separate vfrom the bridging contacterlaminated brush 9.

As it breaks upward it reachesthe dotted line position above the oil,thereby having v the advantage of lifting into the air, which is abetter insulator than ca'rbonxzed oil, although the latter issatisfactory for the circuit to breakin but is Anot of much value as aninsulator. When it is desired to remove the oil pan the switch isbroken, there- This economizes space on the back of they switch-boardWhere these oil switches are usually mounted. Having lremoved the o ilpan, the laminated' brush 1s easily inspected in' the bottom of saidpan. Also as it is entirely separated from its coperating terminals 10,1l, when thus removed, there is so l the advantage of being able tolinspect the apparatus when the terminals are -absolutely dead andbeyond any possibility of danger. By having the upturned bridgingcontact secured in the bottom of the pan, and preferably centrallyfastened directly to the bottom as shown, and all the other partsremovable therefrom, it becomes an exceedingly simple matter for theoperator to wipe oli1 or file and even-up the ends of the bridgingcontacts, and, when the latter is laminated, to remove or addlaminae'incase any of the leaves break, corrode, burn out, or get otherwise.injured. v

It willl beunderstood that many changes in mechanical detail may beresorted to within the spirit and scope of my invention as defined intheappended claims.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by LettersPatent, is,

1. An oil switch apparatus, comprising aioo support having an oilcontainer cover fixed ,theret-o, spaced apart line terminals carriedable contacts in` sliding frict-ional engage;v

ment with said line'terminals, said contacts at their lower `limit ofmovement engaging

